Stuck in hell with the damn devils
by Complicated-little-Jellie
Summary: Isolated and ignored at none other than Brecon Beacons, Alex has to show K-Unit whether or not he can shoot. Trouble is ensured, and the pain that follows suite. But what will Wolf do?
1. Chapter 1

I woke up, shivering. As I always flipping did. The rest of the unit were already halfway out the door for breakfast. Nice of them to wait for me, I thought sarcastically to myself. Wolf, who was last one out, saw me sitting up, and sneered; "didn't want to wake you from you beauty sleep double'o'nothing! Better hurry up, you wouldn't wanna get binned would you now?" And with that he left to go and catch up with the others, I can only assume.

I jumped out of bed and yawned. I hastily shoved on my day uniform and made my way to the food hall for a ridiculously early breakfast at this stupid hell hole.

As I trudged towards the hall, I could smell the mush, or food as some people called it, wafting out from there. I almost held my nose at the revolting smell, but the sergeant walked by and I decided against it.

I walked in and nobody noticed me. I grabbed a plate and stood behind the long line of men, but nobody noticed me. As the cook dumped mush onto my plate, he didn't even look up to see who it was. As I walked to the edge of the k-unit's assigned table, they didn't stir from their 'apparently' important conversation; they continued all whilst he eats the grotesque thing. It was like I wasn't there, like I was just imagining the hall but I was on a hill. Only I knew I was in hell on earth, or as some called it, SAS training camp Brecon Beacons. I hated it here. I never wanted to be here, and the units decided to make his life as bad as possible. Especially Wolf. That man teased me and made me miserable to no extent. They didn't know I had saved their lives (and the whole worlds!).I had probably saved their sorry ***** many times over the past 10 months. And I had paid a terrible price for it. I didn't fit in anywhere anymore. I was neither teenager nor adult. Neither SAS nor spy. I was alone. And I was the reason for the ones closest to me's deaths. It had started with Ian, hell it had started with my god damn parents. Then Ash. Then Jack. Then Sabina and her parents. Then Tom and his parents. Everyone. And it was my entire fault. If only I had stopped Ian from that 'special bank meeting' in Cornwall. It would all be alright and I would at home in Chelsea with Jack and Ian and Tom. But I hadn't stopped him. He HAD died. I DID say yes. Jack DID die. Tom DID die. Sabina DID die. Even Yassen died on me….

Tears brimmed on my eyes. Without continuing my mush I dumped it on the bin and sprinted away. I ran and ran until I was at the other side of the lake. I sat and brought my knees to my chin and wrapped my arms around them. And I cried.

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I stood at the outskirts of the shooting range. This would be the first time I shot in front of my unit; and so I was terrified. Not because they'd laugh at me for being super bad, no I wish it were that simple. I was terrified because when they saw I was a perfect shot, they would ask questions I couldn't answer, which would make them mad, especially Wolf. Cockroach, the shooting instructor, beckoned me over. It was my turn. I gulped and walked over, ignoring the sniggers from my lovely unit.

"Have you ever shot before Cub?" he asked.

"Yes sir" I wasn't gonna give this guy and explanation.

"Well then, dissemble and reassemble this gun before you shoot, oh and don't hurt yourself or _shoot _yourself, we wouldn't want that happening to our little Cub, would we now?" his tone was mocking, and it took all I had not to punch him in the face. And the men behind me, who was laughing.

"No sir, hand me the gun then_ sir_" I said, emphasising the _sir _bit.

His eyes narrowed and he shoved a .99mm Browning hand gun at my chest, right at my bullet wound. I winced and stepped back, making him laugh, and the others, well even more.

I smiled to myself and dissembled then reassembled the gun in just less than 30 seconds. Everyone was staring at me now, no laughing anymore. I stood in my preferred shooting stance and shot the target. Dead on bulls eye. I repeated this 7 times till the gun was empty. It turned around to find 5 slightly angry and awed soldiers gaping open mouthed at me. There was silence, until the youngest soldier broke it.

"Where the hell did you learn to shoot like that cub!" Eagle exclaimed, very loudly.

"Classified" I practically growled.

Then it was Wolfs turn to growl.

Oh crap.

Authors comment

That's just a little story I'm working on. I know it's pretty much the same as tons of the stories, but if you read it and you think it has potential then please review the, I'm all ears for ideas! :D x


	2. Chapter 2

"_Where the hell did you learn to shoot like that cub!" Eagle exclaimed, very loudly._

"_Classified" I practically growled._

_Then it was Wolfs turn to growl._

_Oh crap._

They surrounded me from all corners. No escape. And that's coming from me, the fully trained 14 year old spy.

I made to duck and run in between Snake and Eagle, where there was a small gap, but they pushed me back and Wolf, the charming man, grabbed a fist full of my hair, making me yelp in surprise.

I couldn't move without him pulling my hair harder, which was actually incredibly painful.

"Cub answer my ******* question! Where the hell did you learn to shoot like that!" he growled.

I didn't answer his question, which only made him pull my hair even harder. I snapped. Who did man think he was? Hurting me like this. I was supposed to be safe here!

I punched him in the ribs, which made him let go of my hair. Snake made to grab me, but I jumped and kicked in the soft spot, making him collapse. Eagle and Fox both came at me, both from either side. I tensed waiting till last moment before I dived out of the way, so they crashed into each other and both fell over. It was funny! I ran out of the shooting range and carried on, despite the shouts and the footsteps behind me. I had never sprinted so fast in his life, but as the footsteps faded behind me, I kept running. From everything and everyone.

_Snake POV_

That kid was amazing. His shooting made Eagle, our best shooter, look like a rookie. I didn't agree with Wolf being horrible to him. It would be best to just ignore him. Hell, it would be best for the rich snob to go home. That was the thing though; he didn't seem like just a rich snob. He was way too good at the exercises and didn't act rich at all. He acted like all agents. Cold and un-emotional.

But when he just tried to walk away from the shooting range after doing that, it wasn't Wolf that got angry. We all did. Cockroach wasn't bothered, but we were. He just had too many secrets and not enough answers. We had surrounded him from all sides. He couldn't even escape when he tried.

But when he attacked. Well, he's damn good.

He turned and punched Wolf hard enough to make him collapse, which must've been very hard. Then the little **** kicked me in the balls when all I wanted to do was ask him a question and get a descent reply! But it floored me; it was a damn hard kicked. My head was spinning. But I did laugh when he tricked Fox and Eagle into crashing _into each_ _other! _

But when he ran. And Wolf ran after him, I picked myself up and started after them. Wolf could get…carried away when he was angry. I swear that man had anger issues.

I sprinted after them, Cub was very fast, but Wolf was gaining on him. I pushed myself to my very limit and caught up with them at the edge of the forest. I was shouting but they ignored me. I lurched forward and grabbed Wolf by the shoulders, and automatically ducking as he turned around and punched out of pure habit. Cub carried on sprinting. But I didn't stop him; might as well let him get away because he's got to come back anyway.

"WHAT THE HELL SNAKE! WHY DID YOU FLIPPING GRAB ME I ALMOST HAD THE BRAT! YOU BLOODY IDOIT!"

And then he gave me 3 minutes of a wonderful range of colourful language, in a range of languages. Language I'm not going to describe.

I never let go of him the whole time. I didn't understand why he was this angry. I had worked with the man for 5 years, and never, not once, had I seen him this furious.

"Chill Wolf. He'll be back, he has too, doesn't he?" I argued.

He grunted, shook me off and stomped back towards the shooting range. I rolled my eyes and ran after him.

_Fox POV_

God Damn Cub. He made me run into Eagle! How the hell did I fall for that one; it's the oldest trick in the flipping book! And it hurt. Eagle has a big head, a head that slammed full on into my quite small one. It was like a car collision between a crappy run down fiat and a Nissan Navarra; and I got a thumping bad headache. I think I might've even got a concussion or something because my vision was slightly blurry and my balance was shot. But I was alright. I only fell a couple of times and walked into 3 people as we were leaving the range, when he decided to drag me to the infirmary because I walked into to him and then fell over (which of course he found _incredibly _funny) and even though I argued, badly I must admit, he still dragged me over there. I hate hospitals.

_Eagle POV_

Fox with a concussion is very funny. He staggered around like he drunk and kept walking into people, well actually very annoyed soldiers after he walked into them, I couldn't help but laugh. But when he walked into me, I was almost crying. When he fell over I laughed so hard I ended up actually crying of laughter. And he just sat there where he'd fallen, not really comprehending anything. I kept laughing as I hauled him over to the infirmary to sort him out, despite his weak protests.

I knew he was terrified of hospitals, so getting him in the door was very hard. I ended up picking him up in a fireman's carry and running through the door; sniggering.

The doctor checked him over and confirmed he had a quite bad concussion, so he gave him a shot of something (I'm not a medic, I don't know these things, that's Snake's job!) when he complained about his head hurting, which did shut him up. The doctor laughed too.

They gave him a cold pack and told him to sit out of the next exercise, which was the 8km run, lucky bugger! I wondered where Snake, Wolf and Cub were, and if Wolf had killed anyone yet!

I dragged Fox back to the cabin, as we had half an hour until the next exercise seeming as the shooting ended…badly. So we walked back to our bunk in near silence, because he had a headache or something.

After 20 minutes, the door slammed opened, and in came a growling Wolf, then Snake, who seemed to be thinking deeply but alertly.

But there was no Cub. Where was he?


	3. Chapter 3

_Alex POV_

Even when they stopped chasing me, I continued in my sprint. Tears were threatening to fall and I knew I just had to get away, even if it was only for the night. So what if someone of something came and killed me? I had nothing to live for anymore, so I don't really see the problem. After what I think must have been at least 7 miles, I slowed my pace slightly. It wasn't for another mile until of the fast jog until I stopped. I can come to a very high pine tree, with branches sticking out from bottom to top, perfect for climbing.

By the time I reached the top, I only had a few cuts and scrapes, my clothes were only a bit torn, not to mention soaking salty wet. Sitting on the highest branch that would take my weight, and wrapping my hand round my legs, which I had pulled to my chest, I gazed at the moon. Such a powerful, carefree thing. Never in danger, and it always knew where it was supposed to go and what it had to do. Whereas real life isn't like that. Real life is a rollercoaster, and mine seemed to be broken. That was the word used to describe my life. Everything I lived for had left me, because of me. I shivered away the thoughts, clearing my mind, and laying a blanket over my emotions. I switched off and my mind fell into a deep haze.

_Snake POV_

Cub had run off! I suppose he had good reason to, I think anyone would run away from an angry Wolf, especially that one, but it why he had made him angry in the first place that bothered me. The kid was so protective over his secrets, and I agreed with what Wolf seemed to be thinking; we need answers that we will get. Although I'm a man that thinks verbal before physical, I think personally we should pin him down and squeeze the god damned answers out of him because frankly, this was ridiculous.

We left Fox in the hut and started to make our way towards the beginning of the 8km running course, but just as we passed the mess hall, one of the new recruits, I believe named badger, ran over to us, slightly red in the face.

"What do you want?" Wolf growled. This man couldn't help himself, could he!

"Sergeant wants to see you in his office, apparently it's urgent" he answered, he looked scared. I almost felt sorry for the man!

Without a reply, we hurried over in the opposite direction, in the direction of Sergeants office.

_Sergeants POV_

Damn! MI6 had told me that I had to keep Cub safe, out of danger, and in plain view. In other words I couldn't allow him to get lost or run away, and I had failed miserably.

My buzzer went off alerting me that someone wanted to come into my office. I knew who it would be, so I pressed a button that automatically unlocked the door. I didn't even look up from the file I was reading as many sets of footsteps entered my room. I heard their hands whish through the air as they stood to attention. It was then I looked up.

3/5 of the K-unit was standing before me. "At ease" I muttered, scanning them down, a pure habit in my work, as they visibly relaxed.

"Where is Fox?" I asked them, impatiently, to my surprise, it Eagle who answered.

"He has a concussion and is currently at our cabin" he replied, emotionlessly.

"I would ask how, but I have more important things to be asking, like where the fuck is Cub?" I screamed at them.

Snake looked at the floor, Eagle looked at Wolf and Wolf did nothing, not breaking his thinking mask he had on. I almost raised an eyebrow at this; because Wolf never didn't reply to a question.

"I will try this again; WHERE THE FUCK IS CUB?"

They flinched and moved back slightly, to this I smirked slightly because I knew they had heard me loud and clear, and probably everyone in the entire camp.

"He ran off sir, we haven't see him in an hour or so I think"

My mind didn't even register who spoke. Gritting my teeth, spoke to them once more;

"Find him. I don't care if it takes you all night. Heck I don't even care if you tranquilise or knock out the kid, just get him back or you WILL be binned, now get out of my office"

They took the message and left my office. I buried my head in my hands.


	4. Chapter 4

_Here is the 4th chapter readers! please enjoy...and review! i hope you enjoy this chapter..._

_3__RD__ PERSON POV_

The k-unit made their way over to the arms shed to get some tranq guns, along with real guns, as they felt that they might need to protect themselves and possibly tranquilise cub. Snake and Eagle felt slightly uneasy about tranqing a kid, but an order was an order, especially from an angry Wolf. They slipped on their night vision goggles and made their way to the forest, in the direction that Wolf had chased Cub earlier.

Eagle, being the telecommunications man of their unit (and a geek!), had a radar in his hands, along with a torch on his head shining over the map that he was holding with his other hand.

"Where do you think he would've gone?" Snake asked him, pointing at the map. It was a detailed map of the forest, with the biggest trees and the ditches and things marked out, in other words it would help them because they figured that Cub would take the easiest routes, as he was in a dead sprint when Snake persuaded Wolf to leave him.

Whilst the others figured where they would need to go, Wolf was pacing, thinking about Cub. He couldn't understand the importance of finding Cub. Yeah sure, he was a kid, but he had NEVER seen sergeant so agitated. The man generally looked worried, and if he was correct, maybe even scared. Of the fact that they had lost Cub. Who the hell was this kid to be able to scare their sergeant just because he had disappeared?

He was shaken from his thoughts as Snake and Eagle began walking east, following one of the faintest trails Wolf had probably even seen. Damn this kid, he thought as they began their search for the missing boy in the forest. Each man could tell it was going to be a long, difficult night, and that if they didn't succeed then the chances were that they would be binned. This only made Wolf angrier and want to kill him more than he had earlier, which is never considered a good thing.

20 minutes into the hike, Snake noticed some ripped khaki cloth on one on the branches of a thorn bush.

"Hey wait up!" he called, as Eagle and Wolf had both continued, not noticing that their medic had stopped.

"What?" Wolf growled.

"it's a shred of khaki cloth, like ours, must be Cubs, were going in the right direction" he paused to take a closer look at the cloth, and saw a brown/red smudge on it. "It's got blood on it too! He must have caught his arm on the tree" Snake said, horrified, as he was a medic, Wolf didn't see the importance.

"Well then the shit is gonna have to do kitchen duty because he ruined his uniform then, isn't he? Lets go and get him before its bloody tomorrow or it starts raining." Wolf commanded, once again continuing, only walking faster.

Snake and Eagle sent silent words to each other, before continuing their speed hike, each praying that Cub didn't put up a fight: because they knew that Wolf would just tranq him immediately, if he didn't anyway. They all knew that Tranq's gave you a killer headache and were overall unwanted.

….._5 minutes later…._

"Noooo" Eagle moaned quietly as the rain started falling. Not gentle and building, like a climax of a good book, but a sudden downpour that drenched them within minutes, despite the fact that they had the protection of the trees. Snake hoped that Alex wasn't at the top of a tree, like he suspected he would be, because he knew that the kid had only been wearing a t-shirt and trousers when he ran off, and the last thing that he wanted was to have to deal with hypothermia.

_Back to Alex _

Alex sat in the tree, his eyes open but not quite seeing, gazing aimlessly at the sky. The moon had long been curtained behind the black clouds, the very same ones that were enveloping him in freezing rain. He was cold. Shivering underneath the thin material that covered him. And tired. Not to mention that his lips were blue and his teeth were chattering. But Alex Rider didn't notice these things. He was thinking. Incredibly deeply. Of all the good times he had had in his life, before the death that wrote his sentence. He knew it was only a matter of time before he died on a mission that goes wrong, or some other terrorist group he had annoyed greatly decided he needed to die.

He didn't even notice when the thunder shook the tree he was in and lightning flickered across the stormy sky.

Not even when his unit found him, shining powerful torch beams on him.

_3__rd__ person but from k-unit's POV (if that makes sense)_

They had lost the trail merely minutes ago and were now checking every tree with the special torches they had with elongated beams of up to 100m, trying to find him. It had been Snake's suggestion to try the tree's, which was now proven useful.

Eagle shone his torch on a big oak, that looked perfect for climbing: the very same thing that Alex had thought. The man knew from experience as he had been an adventurous child.

He shone the beam up, searching strategically from height to height, searching from right to left to cover all areas. Then he found him, on a thin branch, near the very top of the 4 story tree.

He picked up his walkie talkie and spoke into it.

"Eagle to Snake, do you hear me? Over"

It buzzed for a minute before a Scottish accent answered. "Snake to Eagle, clear, what is it?" he asked, sounding agitated.

"Found Cub. Approach to me with caution. Over"

"Affirmative, coming, over." He replied, and with that Snake made his way over to Eagle.

He went over, and was about to start asking him who was going to tell Wolf when Eagle put a finger to his lips and pointed in the direction of the very top of the tree, where his torch was pointing.

The scots man looked up and blanched. Cub was sitting on a thin branch near the very top, shivering violently, his eyes far away, gazing blindly at the sky.

"What the hell are we gonna do?" he whispered.

Eagle merely shrugged. Snake was about to say something else when a shout startled them, even if they barely heard what he said.

"Oy! What you goofs staring at? have you found the brat?" Wolf asked as he approached them, but they didn't hear him, they were focused on Cub, who was currently standing on the top branch, tense and ready for action, glaring at them through expressionless eyes.

Wolf too looked up, scowling like there was no tomorrow.

"Cub. Get down here before I shoot you down." Wolf threatened, his voice on the verge of breaking with anger, as he brought out his tranquiliser.

Alex's eyes widened in horror. "Cub, come on get down, if Wolf shoots you then you'll break some bones and possibly die from falling!" Snake shouted, trying to reason with him. The thunder, lighting and rain had stopped at once, gone as quickly as it came.

Alex didn't reply, only look around for his possible escape routes. He knew he could quite possibly die if Wolf shot him, but he also knew that Wolf would shoot him. Then he saw it.

There was a tree merely 2 metres away from his current position, which was another story higher than the tree he was currently in, with big round branches, perfect for landing on if he jumped. But he was tired, and hungry, and felt as though he might have minor hypothermia as he was starting to lose the feeling in his fingers and his feet were tingling.

"Cub, I will shoot you if you don't come down right now." Wolf shouted, aiming his gun at Alex. Eagle and Snake stood, not quite sure what to do. When Cub didn't move, Snake saw Wolf's finger starting on the trigger and knew he had to interfere. He dived forwards to jog his arm, but he was too late. The dart shot out of the gun headed for Cub.

Alex had been preparing himself for the jump, but when he heard the single gunshot, his reflexes acted before he could think. He dived forward, the dart narrowly missing his shoulder by millimetres.

They watched in horror as he jumped. Even Wolf, however much he hated him, didn't think he would jump and most likely break his neck. The tranq would've given the boy a minute to hold onto the tree before he passed out, which would've been enough.

But as Cub jumped, Wolf realised 2 things. 1 was that Cub was starting to fall, having not miscalculated, but probably because of the fact that he might have hypothermia, and that it was his entire fault.

Cub made a wild grab for the tree branch, but didn't grab it. He fell. hitting various branches making him yelp in pain.

K-unit could only watch in horror for the very few seconds as their youngest team member fell to his possible death.

/

**DUN DUN DUN!**

**WHAT WILL HAPPEN TO ALEX? WILL HE DIE? WILL HE LIVE WITH A CRIPPLING INJURY? WHAT WILL HAPPEN TO WOLF? WILL HE GET BINNED? ARRESTED MAYBE? NOT SURE?**

**PLEASE REVIEW EVEN IF ITS ALL NEGATIVE (WHICH I HOPE IT ISNT BECAUSE I QUITE LIKED THIS CHAPTER MYSELF) YES CONSTRUCTIVE CRITISISM IS WELCOMED!**

**OH AND I ALSO HAVE SEVERAL OTHER STORIES IF U WANNA CHECK THEM OUT!**

**NEXT CHAPTER WILL BE UP SOON, I PROMISE XX**


	5. Chapter 5

**i know this chapter is short, and i know its not that good, but in my opinion is a neccessity filler chapter really, so yeah! review and tell me what you think !**

_But as Cub jumped, Wolf realised 2 things. 1 was that Cub was starting to fall, having not miscalculated, but probably because of the fact that he might have hypothermia, and that it was his entire fault._

_Cub made a wild grab for the tree branch, but didn't grab it. He fell. hitting various branches making him yelp in pain._

_K-unit could only watch in horror for the very few seconds as their youngest team member fell to his possible death_

Alex felt the constant lashes of pain throughout his entire body as he fell from branch to branch, each time more pain exploding like a bomb from the place where he hit it.

Despite all the pain, Alex made a final decision. He knew he had been in a worse condition than this and done more. There was a thickish branch, close coming. He tried to grab it.

And he half succeeded in doing this. Managing to land a hold on for a couple of seconds before he fell, only this time for a metre or so, before he hit the damp forest floor with a thud.

Gasping, he slipped into the dark water that seemed to be engulfing him. In the distance sunlight teased him, and he thought he heard a Scottish person shouting out his SAS name, before he passed into the ever welcoming, easy darkness.

_Back from where the K-unit were standing_

There was nothing they could be until he was on the ground. All of them visibly winced as he lunged for the thickish branch on only a metre from the bottom, all including Wolf. And then their jaws clenched as he hit the ground, Snake starting for Cub, thinking very colourful language describing his unit leader as he went.

The medic approached as quickly as possible the boy on the floor, currently unconscious. He could hear Eagle's loud footsteps behind him.

Kneeling down, he quickly did all minor checks on the casualty; pulse, breathing, even pupils. He then checked for any major lacerations, finding several across the boys back where the branches had got him, ripping his army uniform as well. His wrist was dislocated and perhaps 2 ribs were broken. They probably hadn't pierced the lung but Cub was definitely going to need an x-ray.

"Eagle, pass me the medic bag" the man instructed, his tone not one to be messed with. Eagle did so with efficiency that only SAS could manage. Then Snake and Eagle moved Cub to the shelter as quickly and as gently as possible.

Professionally, the medic wrapped bandages around the largest of the cuts, after having Eagle as a head cushion for Alex so his tongue didn't slip to the back of his mouth and stop him from breathing. That would be worse.

All the while, Wolf just stood to the side, mind racing yet not registering that he was rapidly getting more and more drenched and that the feeling in his fingers and shoulders was starting to fade.

Once Snake had done the most he could for Cub, he turned to Eagle and was about to tell him to pack up the equipment when all of a sudden, Cub sat up, gasping for breath and coughing what seemed to be blood.


	6. Chapter 6

**here it is! chapter 6! its very long for me, even if its not that long. i suddenly had an idea about what to right when i was sitting in english and thought of it! so enjoy and review****!**

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><p><em>Once Snake had done the most he could for Cub, he turned to Eagle and was about to tell him to pack up the equipment when all of a sudden, Cub sat up, gasping for breath and coughing what seemed to be blood.<em>

"Cub!" Snake shouted to the boy. Alex was in a coughing fit, probably not being helped by only being slightly propped up on Eagle's lap; so whilst speaking words of comfort, because Alex was still gasping, Eagle and Snake moved him into a sitting position, only leaning against Eagle's chest so he was near upright. The cough lessened somewhat but he was still gasping quite a bit, so Snake gave him some water from the medical pack and went through a breathing exercise with him: "Breath for me Cub…yeah…one…two….three…that's it….one….two…three…" and continued like this for 15 minutes till Cub's gasping subsided to slight wheezing, the cough gone mostly but Snake needed to have an x-ray done to see just what was wrong.

"You alright now Cub?" Snake asked cautiously, wanting to see what his reaction would be.

"Fine." Cub replied, his eyes trained on the floor. Although he said he was fine and tried to stand, wincing as he did so, Eagle wrapped his arms around Alex's chest and midsection so he couldn't move.

"Hey! Get off me!" Alex half yelled, half growled, wriggling in Eagle's firm grasp.

"Cub calm down buddy, you've just fallen out of like a 30ft tree, and most likely have a concussion, not to mention tons of scratches, bruised, lacerations, you're right wrist is dislocated and you've broken 2 ribs and you might have punctured a lung or have internal bleeding! Walking is not a good idea right now." Snake stated, voice high but towards the end, his voice low and clear and not to messed with.

Slumping against Eagle's chest in exhaustion, he muttered "but I'm fine" and something close to a pout was on his face.

Stilling wheezing, Alex was starting to slump a bit more, relying on Eagle more, and it was quickly noticed by the medic and of course, the man who was supporting his weight and still had his arms around Alex's midsection.

"Cub? You holding up? We'll get back soon minutes bud" Snake said, clear sympathy woven into his words.

It took a while for it to register that Snake was talking to Cub in Cubs head. He was starting to feel light headed and every now and then, the ground seemed to wobble, which he thought was weird considering that it was rare to get earthquakes in Wales….

"Mmm…fine" Cub replied, his mind was feeling rather sluggish. Snake had seen the hesitant answer, and once he had packed up all the equipment, crouched down in front of the boy and waved his hand in front of his face. About 5 seconds later, he muttered a low "what?" that sounded like he was a stropping 5 year old, but it was obvious that something was wrong.

"You okay Cub? No sickness? Earth moving? Brain feeling sluggish? Light headedness? If you have any of those symptoms then tell me…now" Snake demanded, kind of knowing what the answer may be.

"fine" Alex mumbled, not trusting himself to say more.

"Which translates from Cub language to something wrong. What is it?" Snake once again demanded.

"All of them" he mumbled, his eye lids drooping slightly as he spoke. Snake quickly felt the back of his head, and frowned as he did so, well, at least frowned more than he already was.

"Alright Eagle, he has a pretty bad concussion. Need to get him back to camp ASAP. Radio in and tell them to get the infirmary staff ready." Snake glanced at his leader quickly before adding;" and tell them we might have someone with hypothermia"

During this time, Wolf had not said one word, nor moved for that matter. He was dripping and shivering and didn't seem to care one bit. No, it was like he didn't notice and that was what was worrying Snake. It didn't register in Wolf's seemingly numb mind that Snake had said to Eagle he might have hypothermia. Normally he would be leading and making the decisions, not standing like a moron getting very wet.

Swiftly, the team, meaning Eagle and Snake, lifted Alex so Eagle was holding him in a comfortable position, and got ready to get back.

"Wolf!" Snake shouted. Wolf looked in his direction and nodded starting to walk towards him.

"Wolf you better hurry up mate or were gonna have to go without you mate. Being out here isn't good for Cub's health, or yours at the moment, or ours really." Snake shouted again, only quieter this time as Wolf approached him.

Wolf merely nodded again and started after Eagle, Snake following closely behind them.

It was a long trek that seemed different for each person. For Alex, it was antagonizing, because it was just so long. Constantly near to slipping into unconsciousness, yet the ever going rhythm and the swaying as he was carried stopped him from doing so. For Eagle, he was keeping tabs on two things; one was making sure that Cub kept a steading breathing rate, and two was watching the floor as well as in front of him so he didn't trip: that was the last thing they needed right now. The man did not have to worry about dropping the teenager, merely because he was so light that he barely put any strain on Eagle's arms, which did concern him because he thought kids should way more than that. From his point of view, he thought that Cub might be 17, 18? So should he not be heavier?

Snake was doing several things at once. He was making sure that Wolf did not do anything even more out of character, that Eagle did not trip with Cub or walk into a tree, that Cub did not pass out, etc.

On the other hand, Wolf felt like he was slipping into a vacuum. He couldn't feel anything, he felt numb and disconnected, and he didn't think that he had ever felt like that in his life. No he didn't think that, he knew that. Never before had he come across what he was feeling right now…what was it?

…page break….page break….page break….page break….

Eagle noticed that Cub started to drift between awake, unconscious and sleeping, and figured with the concussion it probably wasn't the best thing for him to be doing at the moment.

"Hey Cub. You need to stay awake" Eagle murmured to him soothingly.

Cub replied an unintelligible reply.

"Tell me about your family Cub" Eagle prompted, and Cub opened his deep, lost brown eyes. The unnerving eyes had something in them though, right now, and Eagle thought it may have been sadness.

"Can't. they're dead" he replied, his voice thick.

Eagle was stumped. Dead?

"Friends?" Eagle asked hopefully and full of concern.

"Don't have any" Cub replied, and Eagle had to swallow down the lump in his throat. No wonder that Cub always seemed lonely. He was lonely.

"Tell me about your favourite person, whether they're with us anymore or not" Eagle again prompted.

"She was my house keeper, yet she was like a sister to me. I've known her since I was 7." Cub paused and Eagle seized it as a chance to find out something that had been bugging him.

"And how old are you now Cub?"

"14" he replied nonchalantly, and Eagle almost tripped up. 14!

Before Eagle could exclaim and curse the government out loud, Cub continued "I loved her. She was everything I had after my uncle died in a …car crash…and stuck with me through everything. And then she died. But she was always there for me before that." Cub finished, and he wanted to talk about her, but he couldn't trust himself to speak at the moment. His head was hurting, and not to mention that he might start crying.

Cub started to zone out as Eagle started talking complete crap, and Eagle acknowledged this but kept talking. Even if Cub wasn't listening, he might subconsciously relying on Eagle's voice as something close to comfort and a ledge to hold onto before he fell into darkness.

Cub's zoning out was focused on the many memories thinking of Jack had triggered. Like the one time when she was trying to pull a man around the pool in Spain and had slipped in and all her make up all smudged, or the time when Ian tried to teach her to surf and she accidently hit a foreign person with the board, who had started complaining to her in their language, and then Ian had had to give the bloke fifty euro's so he wouldn't take it to court. Stupid, rather unfunny things that confused him, mainly because he was having trouble remembering his middle name and yet he was remembering what he had on the 2nd night on the trip he had with Ian to New Zealand. Maybe memory was just too powerful for nasty, deathly injuries or something. Something that definitely seemed to be helping as he drifted was the soft murmur of a deep voice in the background of everything. It was like his tie to the real world, and a reminder that he wasn't dead. He didn't want to die, and he didn't plan too. Well, at least at the hands of a certain man who he didn't want to talk to right now, or ever.

…linebreak…linebreak…linebreak….linebreak…linebreak…linebreak…..

The small cluster of 15 huts came into their view as they exited the verge of the forest.

"Man, I don't think I've been more pleased to this place, like, ever!" Eagle exclaimed, and Snake managed to smile. They trudged in the general direction of the infirmary, Wolf trampling behind.

…linebreak…linebreak…linebreak….linebreak…linebreak…linebreak…..

Half an hour later, Eagle, Snake and a more coherent Fox were sitting in their cabin, Eagle reciting what had happened to them.

"HE ACTUALLY SHOT HIM?" Fox shouted, enraged that their unit leader had been so careless.

"….yeah! So Cub dived for this tree, but he was like tired and hypothermic and he missed and was falling, with all the trees branches hitting him. then at last second he grabbed for the lowest trunk and it kinda helped but he fell to the ground! With loads of casualties! So Snake patched him up as best as he could and stuff and we started walking, me carrying him. Wolf was like silent and getting hypothermic and didn't seem to notice! By the way Cub is really light and he's only 14 not 17!" the man shouted.

"14!" both Snake and Fox shouted in unison.

"Yeah, I know!" Eagle was thrilled that he was talking so much. "And he has no family or friends as well!" he also said.

"Poor kid" Fox muttered in sympathy.

Snake was angry. An angry Scots man right now. The government was f**** up and a 14 year olds life had been destroyed. So he wasn't in the best of moods when Wolf burst in through the door, his normal scowl set on his face.

Snake turned to face him, a face full of anger towards the man who he now thought of as a disgrace to the SAS.

* * *

><p><strong>what do you think is going to happen? what will snake do? what is the feeling that wolf has got that he hasnt come across before? what will happen to wolf? maybe binned? please review and tell me what you think! i am not writing another chapter until i have at least 5 reviews for this chapter so review if you want to see more!<strong>


	7. Chapter 7

**hope you like this! i've said i wouldnt update before christmas, but all of a sudden i thought this up. i think its quite good, not trying to sound bug headed, but review and tell me what you think. you know how much i love reviews!:P**

**oh, and MERRY CHRISTMAS ! FELIZ NAVIDAD! JOYEAUX NOEL! ETC... **

_Snake was angry. An angry Scots man right now. The government was f**** up and a 14 year olds life had been destroyed. So he wasn't in the best of moods when Wolf burst in through the door, his normal scowl set on his face._

_Snake turned to face him, a face full of anger towards the man who he now thought of as a disgrace to the SAS._

"Wolf." Snake muttered, standing in front of him and therefore blocking his unit leader from entering completely into their cabin. Wolf could see that they all had faces of furious anger.

"Snake. Move" Wolf growled, little authority in his words. He looked really depressed.

"No." the man replied simply. Wolf's eyes flashed dangerously.

"Snake. Move now, and that's an order" Wolf growled again, not much more authority than before.

"And if I don't?" he replied menacingly. Eagle looked at Fox for help, wondering if they should take action before a fight breaks out. Fox shook his head, making Eagle wonder if the man still had a more serious concussion than he thought.

"Just do it!" Wolf shouted angrily.

Snake moved out of the way and Wolf stomped in, glaring holes at the floor.

"Hey, Wolf" Snake called, and Wolf whirled round….

….only to get punched in the face by Snake. Not a gentle punch, a full on full strength SAS special punch. Wolf stumbled back, but didn't retaliate like expected.

"I guess I dissevered that" he muttered as he headed for his bed.

The rest of the unit were in a stunned silence. When Snake had punched Wolf, Fox and Eagle had been preparing themselves to break up a fight when it came, and even Snake was prepping for a blow in return.

Of course it never came.

Wolf sat on his bed, his eyes never leaving the ground. The doctor had said that he was on the verge of hypothermia, but he had got warm and was fine. They had also said some things to him about Cub.

Apparently, he would heal in time and that he would be out of the infirmary in 2-3 days, oh and that first thing in the morning k-unit could go and see him then.

"Lights out" he said, just loud enough for them to hear. Eagle looked at him sharply and said "Did they say anything about Cub?"

"Yeah he'll be out in 2-3 days and we can go and see him tomorrow morning, first thing" Wolf replied as he slipped into his bed.

Eagle stared at him. "WE?" he exclaimed angrily. "You're not going anywhere near him you bastard." And with that the normally humorous man pulled the covers over himself and turned away from Wolf's direction.

Snake and Fox also went to sleep as well, leaving Wolf to think in the aching silence he was left with.

_(The next day)_

Eagle bounded to the front desk of the infirmary, Snake and Fox next to him. They had been really fast so that they could see to Cub before they had to run their morning run. As a unit, minus their leader, they decided that seeing Cub was more important than breakfast. They could wait till lunch for the sake of their team mate.

Which meant they had roughly an hour of visiting time.

"Here to see Cub?" Eagle asked the receptionist. She glanced at them and replied "Room 5, watch the door, he might slip out"

So they headed to the room, up the stairs, rather confused as to what she meant.

They figured it out soon enough.

Eagle entered first, bursting into the room…

…only to see Cub half way out the window, wearing his SAS shirt and trousers, and of course his army issue boots.

"Cub!" he exclaimed, jumping into action and running to the window.

Cub's eyes widened in surprise and made to get away, only for Eagle to grab the neck of his shirt. The man laughed as Cub muttered a 'damn' as Eagle pulled him back inside, as gently as possible considering that he was injured.

Eagle was holding him in a bridal sort of carry, so Cub struggled so he was standing, but Eagle still had one hand around his midsection just in case he tried to run away again.

Snake observed Cub for a minute. He had lots of scratches all over his face and arms, along with bruises. The wrist had a bandage on but it must have been relocated by the doctor. Under his tight fitting shirt, he could see the bandages around nearly all of his midsection. The medic also noted that Cub seemed to be leaning against Eagle, so he was obviously tired.

Eagle also noticed this, but decided not to say, for Cub's sake as he knew he would be embarrassed.

"Cub, how are you?" Fox asked worriedly.

Cub looked at him sceptically and replied "I'm great, you know. Little tired, greatly pissed off, currently being held by someone that smells and I don't think likes me, oh and I'm confused"

Eagle rolled his eyes, picked up Cub, who protested greatly, and gently laid him on the hospital bed.

In return, Cub rolled his eyes and took off his boots, chucking them to the floor by Fox, who straightened them to look neat.

"What was the point in that Eagle? And I was only going for a walk!" Cub started, and Eagle was about to reply when Snake cut him off.

"Cub, firstly you can't go for a walk, you're injured. Secondly, you're tired because I saw you leaning against Eagle a minute ago." Alex blushed slightly but Snake ignored this and continued, pacing agitatedly. Fox chuckled. "Thirdly, why are you pissed off and why are you confused?" Snake pressed.

Alex looked around at them, incredulous.

"You don't know why?" he asked, slightly scared.

"No we don't, so tell us." Snake snapped.

"Easy venom, easy" Eagle muttered, making both Cub and Fox smile slightly.

"Well. I am confused and pissed because the last thing I remember is Wolf chasing me through the camp and then I woke up this morning and they all think I am joking when I ask them why I am here. Where is Wolf?"

There was an awkward silence, before Snake started talking.

"Cub, you ran in the forest, and we couldn't find you. And then we went to find you, and sergeant said we had to find you and if you resisted, drug you. MI6 orders or something. So we went to forest and you were in a 30ft tree, and Wolf shouted at you to come down and you didn't, so he kinda, you know, shot you with a tranq so you tried to jump to another tree, and then missed, fell, hit some branches at the bottom, and err hit the ground. So Eagle carried you back, you talked to him, because he was worried you would fall unconscious, I don't know what you said, and we took you to the infirmary." Snake explained cautiously.

Alex was furious. Livid. Who wouldn't be? He'd just been told he fell out of a tree after being shot at by his unit leader, under instructions by bloody MI6!

Snake watched as Cub got angry, then angrier, then angrier. Then furious. He really looked like he wanted to kill.

"Cub, breathe buddy." Snake instructed, seeing that he was holding his breath. He let out along breath and clenched his fists, turning his knuckles white.

"Calm down Cub, you're gonna make yourself worse. There wasn't any internal bleeding was there?" snake asked concernedly. Cub shook his head.

Eagle glanced at the clock. They had half an hour" Cub. I know that you are angry and stuff dude, but you need to rest." Eagle said kindly. Cub nodded, looking around the room.

"Hey, me and Fox are gonna go and speak to the doctor, you two will be alright on your own?" he asked, but more or less told them. None the less, they nodded, and so the two men left the room, leaving the boy and man alone.

"Eagle, what did I say to you?" Cub asked curiously.

Eagle looked at him for a second, before answering.

"Get changed Cub and we'll speak, yeah?" Eagle said, and Cub pouted, without meaning too.

It made Eagle laugh, but Cub continued not to move, so Eagle did the easy thing and picked him up, taking him to the private bathroom in the room and dumping him on the counter. A look of indignation covered Cub's face, but he was too tired to argue. Eagle chucked some hospital pyjamas at Cub and shut the door as he left the small room, so he could get changed.

When Cub came out, he was wearing the striped long sleeved button up top and striped loose trousers, his feet bare. The hair on his head was all ruffled and he looked innocent and tired.

Yawning, he slipped into the bed, leaning again the wall to study Eagle. Without anything said, Eagle started speaking.

"You said…that your parents were dead. And that you had no friends." Eagle watched as Cub's face paled slightly. "So I asked you who your favourite person was, I said they could be alive or passed." Eagle paused, to take in Cub's reaction. He was as white as a sheet, as stiff as a post. His breathing was light and his eyes were dark and cold. Obviously it was still a touchy subject. "And you said about a woman, who was your house keeper and like a sister to you. You said you've known her since you were 7, and you said you are 14. From the way you spoke, it sounded like she had passed away Cub. It seemed like your keeping something bottled up kiddo."

Silence. Eagle wondered if Cub would flip out and start punching and shouting, because he had met teenagers that liked to do that. But instead, surprisingly, he started speaking in a thick, emotional voice.

"Her name was Jack. She was a student from America, and because my uncle was a spy, he was away a lot. Before, he had just left me home alone for weeks on end, let me get myself to and from school and make food and stuff. I lived on sandwiches for most of it, it was mostly all I ate. Then child services got a tip from the neighbour and he was forced to employ Jack to be a house keeper who could live with me when he was away. So I spent more of my life with her than with my uncle. When I had just turned 14, he died and I was left to MI6 as my goddamn guardians."

Eagle wanted to ask a million questions, but he kept quiet for Cub's sake. From the speed he was speaking and the sound of his voice, he really needed to speak about this.

"So they black mailed me into working for them, I went on tons of missions. Kept getting more and more hurt every time. First, after I got stuck with you guys for a week, I went down to Cornwall to finish off my dead uncles job. Dunno if you heard about the Herod Sayle business?" Eagle nodded. "Yeah he almost killed me. Then I went to the French Alps, got a clone, went down a mountain on an ironing board and collided with a train. Then met Wolf and went straight back to the crazy academy place. Then I accidently got mixed up with the Chinese Traids and got sent with the CIA to Skeleton Key in Cuba. Almost got eaten by a great white, minced up, almost got made the adopted son of a madman, stopped Russia being blown up by a nuclear bomb and watched a madman commit suicide. Then I messed with Damian Cray, went on a little trip on Air Force One, and was with Yassen Gregorovitch when he died, my…friend almost died as well. I…"

"Yeah?" Eagle prompted. Before, Cub had seemed so anxious to reach the end of his story, and yet now he was stopping. A tear glittered in the corner of his eye.

"I don't…I mean…I just…" Alex did not know how to say it. All he knew was that he was tired and that he wasn't sure if he wanted to tell Eagle about Scorpia, not yet anyway.

"I understand. Tell me two things though." Eagle said.

"Depends what they are" Cub replied defensively.

"Of course. The first one is, how do you know Yassen Gregorovitch?" Eagle was really curious what Cub was doing being anywhere near the best assassin in the world.

"My dad was one of MI6's best spies, and his last ever mission was to get inside Scorpia and crush them. So he ended up being an instructor, and Yassen's mentor. Then they were partners and did missions together. My Dad saved his life, so he was in debt. And then my dad died and so I think that Yassen paid my dad's debt to me and kept me alive on multiple occasions."

"What was your father's name Cub?" Eagle asked.

"John Rider. My name's Alex."

"THE John Rider? As in the best shooter and soldier in the SAS!" Alex nodded." Wow Cub! It explains why you are so god damn amazing!" Eagle exclaimed, surprised. "Oh, and my name is Steve Marks by the way."

"Yeah" Cub replied rather lamely.

"And my other question is how did Jack die?" Eagle asked, straight to business. Alex had started relaxing slightly, but the second Jack was mentioned again, he was straight to what Eagle guessed was his defence mechanism: stiff, emotionless, cold.

"We were in Cairo. I'd been threatened by some…old enemies, so MI6 sent me to Cairo to some undercover work at the Cairo College. Ended up getting captured and emotionally…tortured. They…they…they…"

Eagle laid a comforting hand on Cub's shoulder as he struggled for words, or because he was stuck in a bottled up and painful memory. But the human contact helped for him to continue somewhat.

"The man. He had a rather unhealthy interest in pain, emotional pain. Jack escape and they filmed it, set her up to fail. She, there was a jeep with explosives and her, and they, and …and…and" once again, Alex couldn't bring himself to continue.

"I get where it's going. Don't worry Alex; you don't need to say more." Cub slumped slightly, letting out a deep breath and looked gratefully at Eagle.

Without meaning too let them, tears started streaming from Alex's eyes.

Eagle didn't know why, but he gave Cub what he considered the most awkward hug he would ever give. But Alex was grateful for it; it helped somewhat.

Standing up to leave, Eagle looked Cub fully in the eyes, and a meaning passed between them.

Eagle turned to leave, but just as he did so, Cub said to him, quietly; "thank you Steve."

Eagle nodded and left Alex to his thoughts.


	8. Chapter 8

**Yes! i have updated this! i know it is short but i enjoyed writing it and i think you guys deserved an update! dont forget to review!x**

2 days later, Alex slipped into the k-unit's cabin and headed straight for the bed, making as little noise as possible. This, for Alex Rider, was no noise at all. Just as silently, he slipped off his boots and tucked himself up in the scratchy sheets of his bed, an aching pain everywhere, a headache and generally feeling crappy but glad that he was back in his own bed. Well, out of the hospital at least.

This morning, a nurse had come in and said he would be discharged later today, and wasn't going to be taking part in any of the activities. The second she had left, he got dressed and slipped out the hospital block, heading straight for the cabin.

Why spend another 8 hours in bed in a hospital when he could return to the barrack and start getting his routine back? Well, that was what he said to himself as he walked anyway.

He fell asleep, obviously not intentionally. But still had trouble sleeping in hospitals after the last time he spent a long time in there and almost died in a burning building when he tight roped from one building to another. Scrap building, it was a skyscraper.

When he woke, he heard the voices of people around him:

"…I thought you said he wasn't gonna be discharged until this evening! And that we were supposed to go and get him!" a worried voice exclaimed, and Alex identified this as Fox

"That's what the doctor said to me last night!" a Scottish accented voice exclaimed, Snake.

Over the last 2 days, K-unit had dropped by twice a day, minus Wolf of course. They'd stayed for half an hour at a time, and Alex had got to know them more. the four had laughed and joked, only talking seriously for 5 minutes at a time. He had started to trust them, there was denying that. Especially Eagle, he mused to himself. Who would've thought the person he was closest to would end up being Eagle? Not him, that's for sure. Alex hadn't thought he would ever form a bond with them. it was good to know someone cared after all he had been through.

"He probably walked out on his own accord once he found out that he was going to leave later anyway. He probably saw no point in staying in bed in hospital for 8 hours. He doesn't like hospitals" Eagle piped in, and Alex couldn't believe just how much Eagle knew about him.

Alex didn't know how he felt about this newly found trust. He hadn't trusted someone in a long time.

"Probably." Snake mused. Alex could hear the smile in his voice.

"What's he said to you Eagle?" Snake asked the man after a minute or so. Alex had confined with Eagle, getting stuff off his chest that had been building up for a while now.

Now, Eagle's loyalty was being put to the test.

"I can't say Snake. Not without Cub's permission. He had a lot on his chest, and he hasn't trusted anyone for a while now by the sounds of it. Saying some of his deepest pains and what's he's entrusted me with would be disloyal. If he loses loyalty and trust one more time, I don't think he will ever succeed in getting it back." Eagle replied, his voice full of pain for the boy laying asleep in his cabin.

To say Alex was touched would be an understatement. He wanted to cry in happiness, something he hadn't felt like doing for an incredibly long and painful time. To know that he had trusted someone that was trustworthy and kept their word was an overwhelmingly good thing and feeling.

Maybe his life was going to take an upturn after all.

Once he got over a couple thousand more barriers and issues he had.

Roughly 20 minutes later, he was stirred from his happy thoughts.

"…we don't wanna be late, otherwise serge will have a fit and we won't get any food." Snake said.

"What about Cub though?" Eagle replied.

"We'll bring him back an apple and a couple of slices of bread. He doesn't look like he will wake up anytime soon so we can't wait or its punishment duty for us. That wont benefit anyone. We'll get some chocolate off Lion as well" Snake reasoned.

"Yeah, okay" Eagle said, and Alex heard his heavy footsteps head for the door.

"Lion from D-unit had chocolate?" Fox asked, sounding incredulous. Everyone knew that man was like rock and was really tough.

"Yeah, he has a sweet tooth" Snake replied, chuckling. Everyone else started chuckling and they headed out.

Alex rolled over and smiled, falling asleep with that expression firmly planted on his young face.


	9. Chapter 9

**Here's another chapter. I know it isn't that long, but .. yeah. hope you enjoy**_  
><em>

_"We'll bring him back an apple and a couple of slices of bread. He doesn't look like he will wake up anytime soon so we can't wait or its punishment duty for us. That won't benefit anyone. We'll get some chocolate off Lion as well" Snake reasoned._

_"Yeah, okay" Eagle said, and Alex heard his heavy footsteps head for the door._

_"Lion from D-unit had chocolate?" Fox asked, sounding incredulous. Everyone knew that man was like rock and was really tough._

_"Yeah, he has a sweet tooth" Snake replied, chuckling. Everyone else started chuckling and they headed out._

_Alex rolled over and smiled, falling asleep with that expression firmly planted on his young face._

When the unit (minus Wolf) came back through the door, Cub was reading a Harry Potter book on his bed, the pillow as a comfy back rest. He was really caught up in the book, and really tired, so when Eagle said 'hey', it was no surprise he almost fell off his bed in surprise.

Snake smiled at the boy, who was regaining his composure, as he walked over and sat on the end of his bed.

"Cub...you know when a doctor or nurse says 'you can leave late this afternoon'?" The medic asked.

Alex put on his best innocent face, making Eagle all men in the room roll their eyes. "Yes?"

"Do you know that when they say that, you're supposed to obey what they say because it's in your best interests?" he asked again, some humour in his otherwise very overly-protective parent tone.

"Well…" Cub started; a cheeky grin on his face.

They all sighed.

"There was nothing wrong with me anymore, they said I could leave in like 8 hours, and I was really bored of being in hospitals, I hate them because this one time when there was this crazy man with the map tattooed on him that thought I was some rich guy's son. I kinda switched the name on our doors because I was bored and curious, but anyway, long story short. They were gonna cut off my pinkie but instead they tied me to a chair in a burning skyscraper."

They all stared at him wide eyed, expressions shocked.

"Don't worry, I tight rope walked across from that to another and went back to the hospital." He said, cheerfully.

They all stared at him like he was from Mar's. Actually…

"You know, you're all doing really good impressions of fish right now." Cub stated, and they closed their mouths.

"What the – actually, I'm not even going to ask. Here's your food." Snake said, chucking Cub 2 slices of bread, an apple and a Cadbury's chocolate bar.

Cub licked his lips. And dug in; he was so hungry because the food from the hospital was so bad that he tried to skip the food as often as possible.

"Where did you get the chocolate bar from?" he asked interestedly as he ate the apple.

"Lion from D-Unit has a sweet tooth. Don't tell anyone I told you or he will kill me." Eagle warned, quite serious. Alex smiled and took another bite out of his apple.

Snake went to reading his favourite medical encyclopaedia, Fox took out his favourite penknife to clean it and Eagle decided to text his family with the phone that he got 'special allowance' for because his mother was terminal with cancer in hospital.

They knew that Wolf would be back any minute now, and they weren't sure if Cub wanted to kill him or not. The doctor had also said to Snake that Cub shouldn't really be left alone and shouldn't do anything too strenuous.

So the unit weren't too eager to have the two in the same room.

Once Cub had finished the chocolate bar, he yawned and stood. 3 pairs of eyes immediately darted to him, and he saw this.

"Can't I move without being watched?" he mumbled under his breath as he headed for the door. Snake rolled his eyes at Cub's teenagerness.

"Cub! Where you going?" Eagle asked as he jumped up and headed after him.

"The toilet; am I not allowed?" he replied sharply, acting like the teenager he was.

"Cub. It's not that you are not allowed, it's that you're not allowed out on you own. Not our idea, the doctor said so because you had a serious fall." Snake reasoned.

"Fine" he practically growled, and stalked out, Eagle behind him.

Outside, it was really cold. As soon as Alex stepped out, he shivered and immediately pulled his army issue jacket tighter around his body. He normally wouldn't be bothered by this weather, but he had spent like 2 days in complete warmth so he wasn't used to all this. He ached horribly all over and had a pounding headache; he'd probably overdone it. Walking at a leisurely pace, he listened to Eagle's foot steps behind him.

He was kind of glad that the doctors had said someone had to be with him all the time, because he was worried that he would collapse or that he would be kidnapped and attacked and what not. He wasn't usually one to worry, in fact if you had asked him a week ago he wouldn't have cared because he pictured death and pain as the only way in and then out of life.

But having a friend, possibly even 3, had changed his view somewhat. He'd started laughing and smiling again, and he'd remembered the point to life.

He knew that he shouldn't be happy that someone was with him; he was a spy. He was supposed to be fearless, and everyone seemed to expect that much of him.

Words couldn't describe how happy he was that Eagle had listened, that they had been so…nice about the whole thing. But at the same time, he was still unsure. Was this friendship thing only temporary? Would they just leave him like everyone else in his life had? Just because Eagle had kept his word didn't mean that they were gonna stick around, it just meant that the man could keep his mouth shut when things concerning other confidently were said.

He hated thinking from that point of view but after everything that had happened to him it really was no surprise. He kept his head down and headed for the toilet, pain coursing through his whole head and body. He knew it was just because of his recent injuries, and that he would be fine after a while. He had been through worse, hell and back even, so why couldn't he handle falling out of a tree? He could and he would, and like always he would suffer in silence. He didn't really want to be a pain for everyone else.

After he did his business, they headed back to the cabin, Eagle walking next to him instead of behind him now, something that was way more comforting. Alex may be a spy, but he was still a child and the presence of an adult made him feel safer.

Wolf wanted to hit his head against the brick wall. Scrap that, he wanted to throw himself off of the side of the cliff at the moment. Everything that he cared about right now was slowly heading towards the drain!

He knew he was lucky; because he had almost killed a minor, his career could've been terminated, and he thought it was, but sergeant said that because he was under orders from MI6 he was allowed to keep his job. But that didn't mean he wasn't in trouble. He hadn't thought about Cub's position at the time, he was angry, and that almost caused a teenager his life. How old was he? 16? 17? And Wolf could've taken that from him.

For that he probably would never forgive himself.

Sergeant also said that he could lose position as captain; it would be decided by his unit in two days' time. And his unit hated him; he hadn't told them about it yet, but he planned to tonight. They never left Cub alone; they acted like over protective fathers, and when he was around, like body guards to the president.

Wolf really did want to apologise, even if Cub didn't remember anything after being chased into the forest by none other than Wolf himself, angry at the time.

He was currently standing by the edge of the lake; it was the best place to think. He needed to tell the unit.

**alright. this is for all readers to answer, if u wanna of course. do u prefer shorter more often updates, or longer less often updates? review me your answer. any questions about anything and just me a pm . thanks for reading **


	10. Chapter 10

**Hello! I am sorry I haven't updated in ages! It's been busy. Here's chapter 10, and for readers of my other stories, updates are coming! I promise! **

Chapter 10

_Sergeant also said that he could lose position as captain; it would be decided by his unit in two days' time. And his unit hated him; he hadn't told them about it yet, but he planned to tonight. They never left Cub alone; they acted like over protective fathers, and when he was around, like body guards to the president. _

_Wolf really did want to apologise, even if Cub didn't remember anything after being chased into the forest by none other than Wolf himself, angry at the time. _

_He was currently standing by the edge of the lake; it was the best place to think. He needed to tell the unit._

(2 days later….early morning)

Snake looked out across the lake, as the sun slowly rose behind it; making the whole thing glow a perfect shade of orange. Normally, this lake would look disgusting and green and murky and uninviting, but right now it looked like heaven. Well, heaven for this hell. That's one of the reasons that the Scotsman was standing here right now, it was beautiful, just like the lake he used to see from his bedroom window every morning as he grew up as a little boy in Scotland.

It was also a good place to think. Today was the day that the unit decided on whether or not they should keep Wolf as their captain. It was a difficult decision for all of them. However much they all had a strong sense of dislike for the man right now, none of them wanted to have the responsibility of captain. Not in the sense that they couldn't be bothered to do it, but in the sense that they weren't natural born leaders like Wolf was. That was why they chose him in the first place.

And the last thing they wanted was for a new person to be added to their unit. They liked it better with Wolf than they would with any other man.

Over the last two days, Snake, Eagle and Fox had done all they could to keep Wolf from Cub, and vice versa. They knew that the action was kind of childish but at the same time the protective feeling was too strong. Was it a paternal feeling they all shared, or more of a brotherly feeling? Or just one of a guardian, who knew when it their responsibility and when it wasn't. Like protecting the child but not babying them.

Of course none of them would actually tell Cub that they wanted to protect him. Being the teen he was, in his eyes all he saw was 3 over protective men that wouldn't leave him alone. Although, they all knew that Cub considered them as some form of friends, Eagle more than the other two. He was definitely a friend in Cub's eyes, and of course their eyes and Eagle's as well.

He shook his head and started walking round the lake. He had 15 minutes before the Sergeant would blow the horn and they were expected to start running 5 minutes later. So he decided for a lap round the lake, a walk to clear his head, so he could make an appropriate decision when it came to deciding if they still wanted Wolf as their leader. They were all to say at lunch, in the sergeant office in front of him and Wolf. Cub would also vote, he was a part of their unit after all.

15 minutes later found Snake at the cabin, sitting on his bed absentmindedly day dreaming as the rest of his unit scrambled around to find their clothes and get dressed for the run, including Wolf. Cub was getting dressed, but he wasn't going to start on the morning run until tomorrow, even though he would've started the day he got out of the infirmary if he had had it his way. But with an overprotective medic in his way, things were difficult. So right now, instead of running he would be heading to the mess hall to help the cook with whatever. He didn't mind, and didn't see it as a punishment at all; in fact it had been his choice.

Half an hour later and they were all sitting at their table, eating a rather tasty (for Brecon beacons) breakfast of beans and sausages and a soggy waffle, which they all gobbled down. Wolf sat to the side, not part of the conversation. Of course not.

(Alex POV)

I took a bite out the sausage and looked up, around the table. Eagle was talking to Snake, Fox listening in, and then they all laughed. I wasn't really in the mood for talking and all that; I was tired. I still ached a lot, but nowhere near as much as I did 4 days ago.

But ever since Wolf had told us that we were having the decision on whether to keep him as our captain, it was the only thing I could think about. Obviously I couldn't remember what he had done, only heard from Snake, but it was irrational and stupid and yes, irresponsible, but personally I didn't see why the rest of the unit were acting so horrible to him. They wouldn't let me talk to him; something I wanted to do. I wanted to know what was going through his head that night.

He was always unhappy now and quiet and depressed looking. I know I should be angry with him; I should hate and despise him as much as the rest of the unit do, but I can't. I can't because I know exactly how he feels right now. A week ago it was me being ignored and not being talked too, and I hated every minute of it. Why should he get what I got? Yes he may have been the reason I got that treatment, but I was an intruder, I get that. But he wasn't, and it wasn't like I died or anything, I had been through much much worse.

Maybe it was the child's side of me talking right now. I shook my head and took another bite of the sausage, one thing decided;

I was going to talk to wolf today, one way or another. I had too. I didn't want to lose him as captain, he was the only one I would trust to be the captain, the leader, when we did missions together or whatever we were planned to do by the heads.

(Back to 3rd)

K-Unit exited the mess hall, heading for the assault course. Cub was the in the middle, Wolf to his left. It was then that he made his first move for his plan.

He bent down and undid his shoelace. The others turned around to see what he was doing.

"Sorry guys, shoelace" he said as he began to slowly tie it.

Snake looked suspiciously at him, and Alex could feel them watching as he slowly did up the lace. Wolf had continued walking, but at a considerably slower pace.

Alex looked up, working out the distances. Snake was roughly a metre to his right, Eagle a metre to his left and Fox directly in front of him, also a metre. In the distance, Wolf was turning to the right to go to the course.

Luckily for Alex, he knew a shortcut directly to his right that would take him to the middle of the assault course, where Wolf would be by the time he got there.

In a split second, he was sprinting for the gap in the tree's; his shortcut. Three sets of heavy footsteps followed after him, gaining on him. Good thing he was a fast sprinter. He tore through the unused path, branches slicing his hands as he pushed them away.

As he was running, he was thinking. Was this a good idea? Would the others be angry? Had they had an order from a superior to keep him away from Wolf, and if so then would they get in to trouble because of it? Pushing the thoughts away, he headed further into the darkening forest, as the tree's got thicker and effectively blocking the sunlight.

He hoped that he could eventually (but before lunchtime!) get the unit back together so that they would lose Wolf as captain.

Because if they did then their lives would be at risk.

**Will Alex change Eagle. Snake and Fox's minds? What will they do when they find out Alex ran off to talk to Wolf? please review!:) x**


	11. Chapter 11

**It's short, I know, but this is the length I want the chapters to be! yeah, so, not long till the end of this story now...but you still have the chance to review! thanks for reading and thanks to everyone that has already reviewed!**

_As he was running, he was thinking. Was this a good idea? Would the others be angry? Had they had an order from a superior to keep him away from Wolf, and if so then would they get in to trouble because of it? Pushing the thoughts away, he headed further into the darkening forest, as the tree's got thicker and effectively blocking the sunlight._

_He hoped that he could eventually (but before lunchtime!) get the unit back together so that they would lose Wolf as captain. _

_Because if they did then their lives would be at risk._

As Wolf turned the corner just after the nets at the assault course, he had to skid to halt in the mud to avoid running into the pale blonde haired teenager.

"Cub!" the man exclaimed, coming to a halt and cautiously looking at the tired teen.

"Wolf." The child regarded him slowly, his voice and eyes emotionless.

"What are you doing here?" the man asked, slowly, that cautiously edge to his mannerisms.

"I needed to speak to you, I figured this was the best time and place to do it" Alex explained.

"Where are the others? You just burst from a bush!" Wolf exclaimed, general interest in his voice.

"I took a shortcut, I lost them a while ago." He explained, wondering what his reaction will be.

"You know you're supposed to not be alone." Wolf asked, cautious once again.

"Yes but they would never let me speak to you. They're angry." He explained.

"Of course they're angry! I was the world's worst SAS leader! I acted through anger, irresponsibly, and it could've cost you your life! You're injured and in pain and it's my fault. I'm angry with myself!" he exclaimed bitterly, shame hidden in his voice but the young spy missed nothing.

Before Alex even had a chance to reply, the rest of the unit burst round the corner and angrily pushed past (and ignoring!) their leader, heading straight for Cub.

Despite his current emotionless mask he had on, he still gulped.

Snake reached him first, crossing his arms and looking down on him with a ..._slightly_ furious expression on his face.

"Cub" he growled menacingly.

"Hey Snake" he replied, smiling weakly.

"Care the explain WHAT THE **** YOU WERE THINKING WHEN YOURAN THROUGH THE FOREST WITHOUT US TO TALK TO THIS TRIGGER HAPPY MANIAC!" He exploded.

Suddenly Alex got angry. Why should he do what they said; even if they were his friends now? He didn't see why they were so furious with Wolf!

"Why are you guys so goddamn idiots to him!" he exclaimed angrily, walking away from Snake, Eagle and Fox and standing in between Wolf and them but to the side to the two sides could clearly see each other.

"Yes he made an irresponsible move! It was stupid! He and I have bother suffered from his irresponsible move. And before you said I almost died, the chances of me dying were slim!" he left no space for an argument before continuing "I've been in so many life or death situations that they barely bother me anymore! But just because I'm here and that happened doesn't mean that you should be like this to Wolf! It's just me! Just cub! He didn't hurt any of you; and you guys only started caring like a week ago or whatever so why should you lose someone whose been your friend for however long you've known each other?And if one of you guys did it instead of him, how would you feel if you weren't even given the chance to apologise and you were just made to feel worse instead by your own team mates! If you guys don't vote to keep Wolf as your captain then your lives could be at risk!" he practically screamed at them.

Everyone was dead silent, and all thoroughly shocked. Even Alex was surprised that he had got that angry. He was always in control of himself; even when he was tortured! But now…now he had changed.

Eagle was the first to break the weird silence. He said, confused; "Cub…"


	12. authors note!  not sorry!

**Authors note; sorry not an update!**

**Just wanted to say thanks for all the reviewers and I won't be updating until I reach 100 reviews; which is just 6 reviews away so come on readers!**

**Jellie Smiff x**


	13. Chapter 12

__**Right readers, listen up. you have no idea how bad I feel. I said I would add the chapter, then I had technical issues and then I add no access to my documents until when I'm posting this now. Ever so sorry and even this is short. I totally understand if you don't wanna read this or anything, but I am sorry. I still hope you enjoy the chapter though! And also sorry about the post about getting 100 reviews**

**Wasabi Peas: bit harsh, but I understand what you are saying and i am sorry. you are absolutely right that i shouldnt have posted that. hope you'll forgive me**

**thanks to everyone that did review tho!:) **

_Everyone was dead silent, and all thoroughly shocked. Even Alex was surprised that he had got that angry. He was always in control of himself; even when he was tortured! But now…now he had changed. _

_Eagle was the first to break the weird silence. He said, confused; "Cub…"_

Eagle left the sentence at that, not sure quite what to say. Was Cub actually right? He knew he had been an idiot, hell, worse than that, to his leader. He was confused though.

"Cub. What do you mean?" he asked, trying not to look at Wolf, especially not eye contact.

"Why would our lives be at risk, is what he's asking" Snake explained, he too confused as to why. Before Alex could answer, someone else beat him to it.

"He means that we need Wolf as our team leader, because without him we wouldn't function properly and out there in the field we'd be like walking targets for failure. We need him as our leader because no one else could." Fox stated, a serious look in his eye and a dark look on his face, but also…apologetic? He want and stood behind his leader; not before shaking his hand.

Wolf was surprised but kept this too himself, instead looking at the ground. The last thing he wanted to do was to make eye contact, they might see that as a challenge, something he didn't want nor need at this point. He had been a leader his whole life, never one to do as others said, to be controlled by others. Now it was his turn to bow down.

"You cannot be serious!" Snake cried out; angry and outraged. "We don't need him! Were better without his anger issues and his rudeness and his permanent bad mood and his rubbish tactics! He's the SAS's worst leader and we don't need him! I would be a far better captain!"

Wolf's head shot up and look at Snake, fully in the eyes, blood boiling.

This was what this was all about? Really? Before he could snap, it was Eagle that spoke up.

"Fox is right. I know me and Snake both thought that either of us could easily be the leader, but we are wrong. We need Wolf. Wolf…I'm sorry." There was a shocked silence as the man apologised to his leader, fully sincere and a look of deep regret and shame in his eyes.

Wolf looked incredibly shocked. He didn't know quite what to expect, but an apology from Eagle hadn't even crossed his mind. Although he tended to have childish antics and an outgoing sense of freedom, he could actually be emotionally deep, but proud at the same time. The man had saved lives and served his country to very best and the very stretches of his ability; dedicated his entire life and future to it. He knew he deserved some kind of respect from people. It took a lot for any proud man to apologise, but from a SAS soldier it was 10 times harder.

The proud man walked over to his leader, eyes trained onto the ground as…a sign of respect and acknowledgement of his leader's power? It didn't matter to Wolf. The man was still shocked, thought he hid this well and had an emotionless mask on his face. Eagle stuck out his hand and shook it with Wolf, an obvious sign of forgiveness and apology from both men.

He then went and stood behind Wolf, with Fox.

Cub was just watching still, impassive as ever; his eyes carefully switching between Snake and the rest of the k-unit. It seemed now that the balance had tipped. He thought of the situation as a seesaw.

Originally, it was Wolf on one end, he himself in the centre, trying to balance out but hiding it and then failing miserably to tip the terms.

Then he had gone to Wolf's side, but the seesaw didn't change because he was too light, as in his opinion not making much of a difference but what he had to say changing events.

Then Fox had changed to Wolf's side and the bench had tipped considerably but hadn't completely fallen in either sides favour.

Until now, where Snake's end was up in the air and Wolf's side permanently on the ground; showing which side was obvious to win this conflict.

But what was Snake going to say?

**(A/N I was thinking of cutting the chapter here but after I left the story for too long I figured you need extra! Still sorry for such the late update! )**

The scots man eyes constantly switched from face to face; searching for any sign of anything; a lie, an inside conflict, anything. He wasn't to find anything. Both men had realised their mistake.

In some ways; Eagle and Fox's views were somewhat influenced by the strong willed medics views.

Not to say that he was to blame for the situation; of course he wasn't. Wolf had acted incredibly badly and irresponsibly, Snake, Fox and Eagle had been furiously angry, obviously.

Everyone's stares of expectation were coming down on him, and he felt uncomfortable and pressurised. But he wasn't going to let that effect his answer.

He coughed. "I-"


	14. Chapter 13

**Sorry it took so long. Many people have reviewed saying I should update faster, I know I should, but it gets difficult sometimes. Especially when you lose your laptop for 2 weeks *covers eyes* hope you enjoy nevertheless **

_The scots man eyes constantly switched from face to face; searching for any sign of anything; a lie, an inside conflict, anything. He wasn't to find anything. Both men had realised their mistake.___

_In some ways; Eagle and Fox's views were somewhat influenced by the strong willed medics views.___

_Not to say that he was to blame for the situation; of course he wasn't. Wolf had acted incredibly badly and irresponsibly, Snake, Fox and Eagle had been furiously angry, obviously.___

_Everyone's stares of expectation were coming down on him, and he felt uncomfortable and pressurised. But he wasn't going to let that effect his answer.___

_He coughed. "I-"_

3 men and a boy stood to attention at their Sergeants desk. Said Sergeant had his usual glare on, but his mind was wandering back to yesterday when his best unit plus one teenager disappeared in the assault course for over half an hour. They claimed they were just tired, he had made them swim 50 laps of the lake at 9pm for that. He had his suspicions as to what they were doing, suspicions he kept to himself for good reason.

"At ease soldiers" he muttered, staring each man down. Snake's eyed darted to the floor, Eagle's held his gaze, a sign of defiance, before looking at the ground as he should. Fox was already looking pointedly at the window, and when he got to Cub, they stared each other down for about 5 seconds before the Sergeant lowered his eyes. Damn that kid! He thought to himself as he paced, hands behind his back like the proud man he was. Although he thought he saw a smile or success on Cubs face for merely seconds before it disappeared.

Wolf was in his barrack. Sergeant Eric thought it better Wolf wasn't there, for the teen might feel pressured, although he highly doubted that.

"You all know why you are here, so I'm not going to bother explaining it to you. Eagle, you first" he commanded, sitting down into his expensive leather office chair. Alex scowled slightly in jealousy; even hospital beds weren't as comfy as that probably was.

"Sir, I think Wolf should stay as leader. His misdeed, as you can put it, wasn't to me, therefore I shouldn't be angry about it. It was to Cub after all, and he's perfectly capable, though not old enough" the last part he muttered under his breath so only Fox could hear "to handle people when they do something bad to him. And if wants to forgive Wolf then why should I stay mad?" Eagle said, staring at the Sergeant coldly the entire time.

"Very moving Eagle, but save the emotion for later. I don't care about that" Sergeant rudely told him. To this Eagle scowled but wisely kept silent, despite how much he wanted to shout at the rude man. It wasn't really worth all that kitchen duty, in the long run. He'd been there before.

Sergeant nodded for Fox to speak.

"I vote Wolf for captain sir. I don't think any of us would be as good leaders as him" Fox said curtly and in barely 10 seconds. He hated speaking to the Sergeant; afraid he would slip up and get kicked out the forces.

Sergeant nodded and looked pointedly at Snake. Silently, he noted, Cub tried to hide a look of slight...anticipation that flashed across his face as quick as lightning.

Snake leant on his right, side, then to his left, swaying slightly. He bit his lip. This was his tell that he was about to do something that would wound his pride.  
>"Sir. I know you said that we were to keep this unemotional but I need to say it. I know this is being recorded so I don't have to worry about Wolf not hearing, because I want him to see or hear this." the man took a deep breath, done with his intro. He expected the sergeant to be angry but th look on his face hadn't changed.<br>Taking another deep breath, he began; "Eagle was right sir. It's Cubs decision because it happened to Cub. I got over protective and...I got jealous that Wolf was always in charge. It was wrong of me, and thanks to cub, I know that without Wolf this unit wouldn't last 5 minutes on the field because we need an amazing leader. I was wrong. I shouldn't let jealousy ruin friendship and trust and blame it on some thing like what happened with Cub to hide behind. I vote Wolf as captain" Snake looked anxiously at the floor, so he wouldn't see the looks on his teammates faces, and most of the Sergeants. But if he had, he would've see a firey pride in his normally cold eyes.  
>Eagle was surprised. Incredibly surprised. He knew that Snake had resolved his differences with Wolf, yesterday at the obstacle course, but he hadn't told them he was jealous. He didn't think of Snake to be the jealous type of man, but come to think of it you wouldn't expect a 14 year old to be the worlds best spy.<br>Fox's surprise was similar to Eagle's, and he was equally irked by the fact that Snake, the mother hen of the unit, would be the jealous type.

"Very moving private. you're lucky I've decided not to give you kitchen duty. Cub, your vote". Although what he had said was rather sarcastic, it was a cover up of pride that he didn't want them to see. He didn't want to appear weak.

Alex looked up, surprise on his face. He had been thinking about what Snake had said and the mention if his code name brought him back to reality. "Pardon sir?" he asked.

He sighed. "Your vote Cub."

Alex's eyes widened once more. "My vote sir? I'm not an official part of the unit sir. I figured I wasn't going to vote"

"And I'm telling you that you are so hurry up" the sergeant commanded, impatiently.

"Yes sir. I vote Wolf sir" hr quickly said, a slight smile illuminating his handsome features more than the cold look he usually had.

"Alright,Wolf is to stay captain of the team. Now get out of here" he rudely told them, and then they filed out, after saluting.

As they walked back across the muddy field, each thinking on their own, they heard the loud speaker. "Wolf, Sergeants office now" and then they saw, in the distance, Wolf's figure run out of their cabin to the very cabin they had just come out of.

Alex couldn't help but smile, knowing the man was going to get the news that would keep his bright future of a career on track.

**A/N right readers. Sorry it took so long, seriously I am. I hope you liked it. Now, do you think I should do another chapter, a finale finish off thing? If so, what do you want to happen? And if not, well tell me :)****  
><strong>**Jellie Smiff x**


	15. Chapter 14

**Hey! This is the final chapter! Wanna thank my beta Youngjusticefanatic for helping me with this story! Thanks for all the reviews and helpful input. There will be NO SEQUEL! Thanks for reading!**

He looked at the piece of paper in his hands, smiling.

Alex Rider, aged 19 years old, was sitting on a plane on his way to Paraguay, business class. In his hands was the only briefing he had been given before he was to land in the country he had never visited.

The 4 people he was to work with in his next mission;

_Wolf_

_Fox_

_Snake_

_Eagle_

Despite being a spy from the age of 14 years old, a smile came easily and happy when you really have something to smile about.

This was definitely something to smile about.

2 days later, k-unit plus Alex sat in the plain motel where they were based until they mission was to commence.

Currently, Eagle was standing in the corner of the room, one combat boot on the wall, arms crossed and a wooden toothpick in the corner of his mouth. His eyes were hard, but silently laughing at the same time.

Wolf was sitting in a chair, legs up on the table, sifting through the detailed briefing of the mission. Fox was trying to tune in the cheap radio and Snake was checking Alex's arms after an assassination attempt he had had yesterday.

The knife had skimmed his arm and cut it quite badly, but it was nothing compared to what he had experienced before. Really, it wasn't bothering him, but you try and stop an over-protective mother hen middle aged fully trained and experienced SAS medic from checking a wound on a teammate who he was extremely protective of and treated like a little brother.

Alex had tried to run, but Eagle, the Pratt in Alex's eyes right now, had chased him, caught him, tied his hands, slung him over his shoulder and carried him right back, laughing barbarically the whole time.

Eagle smiled and Alex scowled at him. Nothing changed.

Soon enough, Snake had re-bandaged Alex's arm, and Fox had the radio tuned into some radio station. Fox and Alex understood what they were saying; Wolf would've if he had been paying attention. The Wanted's song; Glad you Came, came on. They prepared to sing along, but Wolf's shout brought them to attention.

"Team, attention!" he shouted, and they all jumped. Fox turned the radio down and they all went to stand loosely round the table. Eagle didn't move, not in a sign of disrespect or anything, but because he could hear perfectly from 3 metres away.

"Alright men, and kid." Alex scowled. They smiled, "I've read the detailed briefing." He glanced around the plain room nervously. "Fox and Eagle, bug preventers and destroyers in place?" (Sorry for any not real stuff, I'm not an expert in spy technology) Wolf asked.

"Yeah, everything's set" Eagle told him. Wolf nodded his acknowledgement.

"Right. Good work. Anyway, we have to get the Spy out of Scorpia's base, and the memory stick with the details to the bombing plans they're supposed to have in their main safe. Most important thing is to listen to the leader. Alex, 6 want you to be captain and leader." He grunted the end part.

Everyone gasped; the toothpick fell from Eagle's unhinged jaw.

However, Alex wasn't included in the 'everyone gasped' bit. He took the information calmly like steel, but an angry look crossed his chocolate brown eyes as what was said sunk in deeper.

"So Cub, here's the info, take it in and let's get this mission started." Wolf muttered loudly as he thrust the papers towards Cub. He was surprised when Cub didn't reach out to take them.

"No." Cub said.

"Cub…orders are orders…" Wolf told him, still surprised.

"No. We had this when I was 14, we sealed that deal. We all voted to keep Wolf as captain and nothing is going to change my decision. Wolf, you're leading this mission. I'm just the spy on the side and it's gonna stay that way. Now let's get the brief over with and start this mission." He said, a tone in his voice that shouted 'don't mess with me, don't argue with me, just do what I said'.

Wolf was impressed. Alex still had emotion and loyalty after spending the last 5 years as a reluctant underage spy.

Wolf nodded and started giving out instructions. He could see everyone listening and nodding at one decision or another that he made. Once the men were ready they all set off. Wolf and Alex were the last to move.

"Thanks" said Wolf. Alex gave a rare smile and Wolf asked, "But why?"

"Captain has to write the report at the end, remember" Alex said grinning. But both men knew it was more than that.

**much love, **

**Jellie Smiff :D**


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